Twenty years ago my wife and I met Reinhard Paichrowski and his wife Pilar Aguilar. They were assigned in Manila, and whenever their schedule permitted, took escapades to the Shangri-La in Mactan.
Reinhard was German, from Bavaria to be exact, and had taught himself how to speak Spanish. The first assignment of his career destined him to Palma de Mallorca in Spain. There he met Pilar, whose family was from Zaragoza, capital of the autonomous region of Aragon.
The circumstances under which they met, the courtship and consequent wedding make for a very nice story. For one thing, Reinhard’s Spanish improved and Pilar became conversant in fluent German.
After Manila they were assigned to various places in Asia, and at the moment they are most happily based in Madrid. They have been in touch with us through the years. Some time in December an e-mail from them said they were coming to the Philippines in February.
There was also the possibility of their coming to Cebu with their dear friends Jun and Menchu (nee Tantoco) Lopez. They’d spend a week in Manila and come to Cebu for a week end at the Shangri-La in Mactan.
They arrived here on Valentine’s Day with Jun and Menchu. Straight from the airport they drove to Cebu City. Jun and Menchu Lopez took this occasion to inaugurate a new Starbucks outlet at the garden level (top floor) of the Ayala Center Cebu Expansion.
“Now they have nine Starbucks coffee outlets,” commented Msgr. Achilles Dakay, who officiated the Mass of thanksgiving on site, followed by the blessing of the locale. Frothy coffee in small cups was served along with some delicious chocolate cookies.
Jun and Menchu then led everyone to the Laguna Garden Café at the nearby The Terraces of Ayala Center Cebu. Joining them there were Angel and Elizabeth (nee Siao) Ong, whose family makes Cebu’s famous R & M dried mangoes, and more.
“What is good here?” Menchu asked Msgr. Dakay, who answered, “Everything.” There were huge fresh lumpia for everyone, plus Bicol’s laing, deep-fried crablets, chicken wrapped in pandan leaves, grilled squid, lechon kawali, and other Filipino specialties.
“It’s amazing how Cebu has developed,” exclaimed Reinhard and Pilar, especially in the area where we were—the Cebu Business Park, a project of Ayala Land. It seems like a new skyscraper is inaugurated every month on tree-lined avenues.
Cake for Msgr. Dakay
Before we all left Laguna Garden Café, the management sent a cake with a candle for Msgr. Dakay to blow as the staff intoned the birthday song. Ambassador Francisco Benedicto, who was there with some friends, looked up and almost stood up.
Most amused Msgr. Dakay said this was not his birthday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, but he was grateful for the cake. “My birthday is on May 14,” he reminded all.
The Paichrowskis and the Lopezes were in Shangri-La before the day’s traffic really got heavy. First thing Reinhard and Pilar did was to enjoy the beach and its limpid waters. “We did it again next morning, and in the afternoon, too,” they said on Saturday night when we met them at the Casino Español de Cebu.
They knew the old building, but the Casino Español since 2004 is housed in a totally new construction with sports facilities, function rooms, a large parking area in the basement, and an expanded kitchen which now boasts of excellent cuisine,
“Great,” Pilar and Reinhard said with amazement. They attended the anticipated Sunday Mass officiated, once more, by Msgr. Dakay, and met some of the members of the Spanish community, among them Julina Muertegui, Paqui Aboitiz and Quina Melendez.
At the club’s El Comedor, they were asked if they wanted dinner a la carte or from the extensive buffet in La Terraza. General manager May Ocaba pointed out that the theme was Spanish-Filipino.
“We’ll take the buffet,” said Reinhard when he saw the well-condimented bihon noodles, crispy kangkong, varied specialties, and two versions of paella, a la Valenciana and Negra flavored with squid ink.
We had so much updating to do, and so many, mostly comical, anecdotes to share, that time flew and the next thing we knew we had to be back at the Shangri-La. They had an early flight back to Manila, and two days later their return to Madrid.
In Alicante, Spain, Reinhard and Pilar have a vacation home. From there it is easy to travel down to Murcia and visit with dear friends from 20 years ago in Manila: former Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Herminio Morales and his wife Maria Dolores. Herminio recently retired from the Spanish Foreign Service.
